...The highlights came early and late. The first course was a delicious and fun amuse bouche that was basically a 21st century form of gribenes, the Eastern European specialty made of fried chicken skin. (A staple at weddings and bar mitzvahs, that is; not so much at circumcisions.) Raves all around. And the dessert, featuring the aforementioned coconut-caramel pear, elicited oohs and ahhs...

...creative problem solver that he is, Lenchner has satisfied his longstanding jonesing for restaurant proprietorship by offering pop-up experiences to (kosher) foodies...Word of their pop-ups has gotten out, so their work for this upcoming one has increased three or four fold.

Abraham may have created the first pop-up feast, hosting strangers in his open tent, offering choice and rare delicacies. Into that food tradition - spurred by the vagaries of the restaurant business and the pressures of the recession - comes Dan Lenchner.

Chef Dan Lenchner and his son, Yair, are putting the sexy back into kosher food. Well, that would imply that kosher food was at one point sexy, and who would argue that it ever was? And so Dan, owner of Manna Catering, has opened the first kosher pop-up restaurant in The Foundry, a stunning venue in Long Island City, to show that kosher food is as innovative and delicious as any other cuisine.

Pop-up restaurants and roving supper clubs have changed the dining scene in NYC but with so many of them being centered around non-kosher meat, I haven't attended.

So I jumped at the opportunity when my good friend A. sent me an e-mail with an invitation to a kosher pop-up hosted by Manna Catering. I checked out the menu, liked what I read and called in my reservation with my credit card.

The Bride and Groom: Judy Berenthal, 28, and Ori Winitzer, 29, who are both M.B.A. candidates.

The Setting: Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts, a desanctified neo-Gothic-style synagogue on the Lower East Side.

Photograph by Arlene Sandler/Courtesy of Judy Berenthal and Ori Winitzer

The Backstory: Ori was born in Israel and had lived in France, and Judy's father's family is from Cuba. To personalize the wedding, the couple wanted a reception that featured Middle Eastern, French, and Cuban food. They also wanted it to be kosher, both to honor their heritage and to accommodate family members. This made finding a caterer an enormous challenge. "A kosher wedding automatically limited the caterers available and quadrupled the prices," says Ori.

Making it Happen: Enter Dan Lenchner of New York's Manna Catering, an anything-but-traditional kosher caterer. The couple was impressed by Manna's sample menus - not a kugel, knish, kreplach, or kasha in sight - but was really sold when they met Lenchner in person. "Middle Eastern-Mediterranean food is standard for Dan, and he was very amenable to our other requests," says Ori.

How it Played Out: When guests arrived at six o'clock, food stations had been set up in the synagogue's mezzanine. One featured Middle Eastern fare such as baba ghannouj, ful (a hot fava-bean salad), Israeli salad, and Iraqi flatbread, while the other had Cuban favorites - arroz con pollo, ropa vieja (shredded beef), mango salad, and plantains. After the ceremony, which took place in the synagogue's main space, they moved back up to the mezzanine for cocktails (including, of course, mojitos) and hors d'oeuvre like lamb borekas with pomegranate dip, pissaladière (Provencal cheeseless pizza), cod cakes with saffron aioli, and fresh-tuna skewers. The sit-down dinner was French-Moroccan, starting with a salade composée of greens, roasted beets, asparagus, and a Tunisian potato-onion pastry called a brik. The main course was entrecôte de boeuf (rib-eye steak) with a Merlot-mushroom glaze and Israeli couscous and winter root vegetables, which was followed by a dessert of chocolat fondant molten chocolate cakes. A strong believer that a proper meal ends with a digestif, Ori provided a plum brandy. To create continuity between the food and the music, a klezmer band played during the meal, then afterward a Cuban orchestra took over. "It was a Jewish-themed event that turned into a Cuban thing really fast," Ori says. "People loved it," says Judy. "They're still calling to talk about it. They all say it's the best food they ever had."

AFFAIRS TO REMEMBER: Steven Spielberg's wedding to Kate Capshaw at
his house in East Hampton took place two weeks after Liz Taylor and Larry
Fortensky's helicopter blitzkrieged nuptials. Security was extreme; the
couple met at a screenning of Doctor Zhivago, so the wedding was code-named
the Zhivago Project.

WHO RUNS THE SHOW: Tel Aviv-born chef-owner Dan Lenchner came to
America after the Six-Day War in 1967. Why catering? "I was a bachelor
until I was 36." says Lenchner. "I got tired of eating meat loaf." TRAY
CHIC: "A lamb chop is a lamb chop, and there's no reason you can't cook it
as well as Chanterelle cooks it," says Lenchner, who calls himself "the
glatt-kosher caterer who won't cook kugel." Manna does baked boreka filled
with potatoes and wbite-truffle oil; Chilean sea bass with flavored kataifi; and
a warm chocolate tart with creme anglaise and fresh berries. Pacific Rim and
Latin cooking are surprising specialties. Monochromatic trays and few
blossoms suit Lenchner fine. "The yiddish word ongepotchket means
'tricked up' " Lenchner says, laughing. "Here, there's no ongepotchket.

THE TAB: Cocktails from S25 per person; three
course dinners from $70. Minimum food cost $1,000;
dinner parties for 10 to 800; cocktails up to 1000

Spring 2002

Manna Catering24 Harrison St.; 212-966-3449
mannacatering.com

Kosher-with-a-twist caterer
Dan Lenchner wowed the
crowd at a wedding thrown by
Ronald Perelman for his
daughter with a very exotic
feast, including everything
from Comish-hen tagine with
conscous to (what else?)
halvah ($130-$180).

BEST BETS

The best of all possible things to buy,
see, and do in the best of all possible
cities

By Corky Pollan

MUSEUM CAFE

With all the restaurant clones moving into art
instituions - Sarabeth's at the Whitney, Dean &
DeLuca at the Guggenheirn - it's easy to forget
the humble purpose of the museum cafe: to
nourish bodies left hungry by the soul's pursuit
of spiritual sustenance. Cafe Weissman, at the
Jewish Museum (1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd
Street) best melds art (ful presentation) and
food.

Architect Kevin Roche, in keeping with the
elegant design of the original Warburg
mansion, craated a cozy space with wood
paneling, heavy oak doors, and a curved ceiling,
The 6 month old basement bistro is as bright
and airy as an atrium, thanks to artist Susan
Stinsmuehlen-Amend's illuminated glass
panels. Manna Catering's kosher menu is
limited, but the selections are tasty and
unusual: Seared tuna with guava relish on a
baguette($7), herbed goat cheese with onion
confit on country bread($6.50), perfectly riped
strawberry-orange juice ($2.50), and chocolate
bread pudding($2.50) are standouts.

Cafe Variety

Among the joys at the Jewish Museum is its new cafe, with a range of dishes best
described as New American cooking: mesquite corn salad with chili peppers;
spring rolls filled with spicy Asian noodles and black beans; radiatore salad with
shiiake mushrooms, fennel, and zucchini; grilled summer vegetables on rosemary
focaccia; plus Sumptuous sandwiches like seared tuna on a baguette or avocado
with sun-dried tomatoes and tapenade on challah. And, yes, you can get a bagel and
cream cheese. The mind behind the menu belongs to Dan Lenchner of Manna
Caterers: Lenchner's food is so good, visitors won't have to scour the
neighborhood for a meal. (Food prices range from $3.50 to $6.50,plus museum
admission.)